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The objectives of this work were to analyze the language development of deaf children
using a cochlear implant (CI) through a longitudinal study using the Reynell Developmental
Language Scales (RDLS), to compare the performance of the deaf children to the
performance of children with normal hearing, and to correlate it with the time of use of the
CI. The participants were 17 6-year-old children with normal hearing and 9 deaf children
using CI. The chronological age of the deaf children ranged from 4 to 8 years-old. The
time of use of CI was, on average, 1 year 6 months at the 1st evaluation, 3 years 7 months at
the 2nd evaluation, and 4 years 9 months at the 3rd evaluation. The deaf children were
evaluated longitudinally through the RDLS, which is composed of the Verbal
Comprehension Scale and Expressive Language Scale. The data were analyzed qualitatively
and quantitatively. The implanted children showed progress of both their receptive and
expressive abilities that were statistically significant but inferior to the children with normal
hearing. In the verbal comprehension the differences between means and medians of scores
of the deaf children and of the normal children were statistically significant. In the
expressive language there was not a statistically significant difference. There was no
correlation between the answers in both scales and the time of use of the CI for this group
of deaf children, probably had to the reduced number of children of this group. The study
proves the efficacy of the CI to the development of receptive and expressive language
abilities and shows that the RDLS is effective in the longitudinal evaluation of deaf children
using CI. Fortunato-Queiroz, C.A.U (2005) Reynell Developmental Language Scales (RDLS): Une
étude longitudinale d´ enfants porteur de l´implant coclear. Thèse de Doctorat. Programme
de Pós-Graduação dans Éducation Spéciale. Universidade Federal de São Carlos. São
Carlos, SP